This morning, i first stumbled upon a Tokyo Show Window gallery (via Fuckdgaijin) then on Chinese artist Wang Qingsong ‘s installation across the entire run of Selfridges front shop windows. Called “Follow Me”, the work employs motifs and symbols of popular culture inspired by the global appetite for shopping. (via Gravestmor Daily Times.) So i decided to write something about some interactive shop windows i’d read about over the past few months.
A few years ago, Greyworld designed interactive windows for Selfridges, a famous department store in London’s Oxford Street. They mounted ultrasonic sensors above three glass windows. As the sensors detected pedestrian traffic, large inflatable dolls shot up to greet the viewers.
There are high and low-res windows movies on their website.
Power Flower, created by Sigi Moeslinger and Masamichi Udagawa of Antenna Design for Bloomingdale’s, was activated by passersby as well. Neon flowers were “blooming” when passersby triggered motion sensors. As people were walking past the store’s window, the first flower triggered quickly faded out while new ones brightened up. As more people passed, the illuminated flowers created a brilliant display of light and ambient sound.
Thanks to Chris who’s just sent me another installation. Using the game’s London Crime theme, AllofUs mounted on the window 16 CCTV monitors running footage from what appeared to be locales across London. Printed across the window was an image of the city sky-line, with key locations highlighted, prompting passersby to touch the window. When they placed their hand against one of the hotspots, an IR sensor triggered an action sequence from a Playstation game.
In Staalplaat‘s Sale Away, passers-by could conduct an “orchestra” of household devices via their mobile phones on a display window. The mechanical orchestra consisted of flute, organ and brass playing vacuum cleaners, rattling kitchen mixers, buzzing ventilators, radio playing toy trains, wobbling jigsaws, dancing tumble dryers, humming refrigerators and other misused household utilities.
Last one of the post is not really a shop window but i wanted to blog it for ages!
The Digital Aquarium, by Digit (creator of the fabulous DigiGlyph), featured 150 pre-programmed mobile phones in a glass tank on display at London’s Design Museum in 2002. When viewers dialed the number on the side of the tank, the handsets vibrated, their screens lighted up and each one emited a distinctive ring tone, creating an effect which is meant to look like a school of fish swimming around. (image Sensory Impact)
Related: Beecroft installation in shop window, Billboards and window displays can track you!, “Brick and Click” shopping experience, Anywhere interactive interface, the anywhere display.
Mirjam Struppek has compiled a very useful list of Interactive Facades and Shopwindows.